The importance of therapeutic exercise of the human body is widely accepted for a variety of innate human disabilities, as well as for muscle building, general fitness and/or weight control. Exercise also plays a critical role in the rehabilitation of patients suffering from various injuries. Indeed, physical therapists provide professional counseling for patients to individually tailor particular exercise programs to meet a patient's specific needs. Rehabilitating exercises differ depending upon the type of disability or trauma present, as well as the type of tissue targeted in the exercise. For example, rehabilitation of muscle tissue demands a different type of exercise than does the rehabilitation of tendons, ligaments, or cartilage tissues.
More specifically, oxygen plays a crucial role in the strengthening and healing process of tissue. The number of repetitions in a given exercise necessarily dictates the amount of oxygen that is supplied to a particular tissue area. It has been determined that tissues found in the lower spine area, such as ligaments, tendons and cartilage, demand a greater supply of oxygen for strengthening and healing, than does muscle tissue. Therefore, higher repetition exercises are recommended for the rehabilitation of these tissues. To facilitate the increase in repetitions, the weight or resistance opposing the exercise must be decreased.
For leg exercises, exercise bicycles and stair climbing apparatus offer low resistance movements to facilitate such aerobic or high repetition exercises. However, these devices are not viable options for all persons having lower back problems. Often persons with acute or chronic lower back problems require exercises that, as near as possible, immobilize, or at least reduce, the stress on their lower back. It can be appreciated that the movements required for both cycling and stair climbing provide excessive stress on the lower back area, and thus are often unsuitable for such patients.
Fitness centers provide various types of equipment that can isolate the leg muscles primarily for muscle building without stressing the lower back area. For example, leg press machines are commonly available in fitness centers, whereby a user utilizes an extension or pressing action of his legs to move a weighted platform, or pedals with built-in resistance, through a particular range of motion. These leg press machines have various adaptations: i.e. some machines allow the user to sit upright and exert a horizontal pressing motion; some allow the user to lie flat on the back and press the weight platform upward in a vertical direction; and still others allow the user to sit in a reclined position pressing the platform along an inclined ramp. The user can appropriately select a light weight for these exercises, thereby facilitating high repetitions; however, the primary focus remains on the muscles.
There are various other problems with using fitness center equipment for rehabilitation exercises. First, the centers are frequently inaccessible. Many people simply prefer exercising in private at home, and others find the high cost of fitness center memberships prohibitive. Further, many rehabilitation patients are physically unable to travel to the facilities to use their equipment. Also, although the type of exercising equipment normally found in fitness centers can be purchased, it is unsuitable for personal use at home. In addition to the normally high cost of such equipment, it is often too heavy and/or bulky to satisfy the portability needs of a home user.
In addition to the types of equipment described above, there are various other exercise machines more specifically tailored for use by the physical therapy or rehabilitation patient. For example, exercising devices exist that are designed for patients confined to bed. These generally employ a frame that attaches to the bed with pedals positioned above the patient's body to allow exercise of the legs. The pedals are oriented so as to limit the leg movement to a generally horizontal plane. While this and other specialized machines effectively meet particular patient needs, they have been found not to be ideally suitable for rehabilitation of disabilities, and thus relief of pain, of the lower back. These machines also generally suffer the shortcomings of high cost, limited portability, and limited versatility.
An additional shortcoming present in many prior art leg exercising apparatus of which I am aware relates to independent leg movement. For example, exercise bicycles require both legs to be used equally. Likewise, most of the leg press machines require uniform motion of both legs. It can be appreciated that many patients have disabilities, such as a particular injury of the lower back, that is best rehabilitated by exercise of one leg at a time. Also, I have discovered that movement up a gradual incline with elastic resistance of the leg movement provides a decided advantage for lower back pain relief over other machines built for general exercise and muscle building use. It is also desirable to have the ability to independently vary the amount of resistance and range of motion for each leg.
Accordingly, there is a significant need for a lightweight, portable leg exercising apparatus that provides an improved and more effective exercise device for treatment for lower back disability and is a viable option for in-home physical therapy. The device should be adaptive for patients confined to bed, and yet versatile enough for use on the open floor. It should also provide for independent and variable resistance adjustment for each leg to accommodate specific patient needs.